Storage-battery separator



STORAGE BAT PA R. APPLICATION F L 24, 9 o.

1,362,289. Patented De@.14,1920.

. 2 S HE ETS -SHIEET l.

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STORAGE BATTEH PAHATOR. APPLICATION F Patented Dec. 14, 1920i. Y 2 SHEETS SHEET 2.

.ml m m m u DANIEL A. GRIEB, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

STORAGE-BATTERY SEPARATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dee. 14, 1920.

Application filed May 24, 1920. Serial No. 383,967.

To afi/- Iwhom it may concern.'

Be it known that l. Damm, A. (inten, a citizen oi' the United States, residing at 1n- (lianapolisT in the county ot' Marion and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Storagel-l'attery Separator7 oi which the following is a specilieation.

lt is the object ot my invention to provide a storage-battery separator whieh will allow the free migration of the ions but will resist the battery acid and will ell'eetively prevent bridging across of the active material lie-- tween plates with the consequent formation of internal short-circuits.

In carrying 'out my invention, l make separators of aeid-resistii'ig Inaterial primarily in sheet torni, sueh as rubber, eellu loid or other synthetic :nail-resisting coinponnds, with slots or other openings formed through it to permit the ion migration, but with portions oli'set troni the' Inain plane olf the sheet totorm guards for such openings.` whereby the ion migration is not interieI-wl with but is required to he in a more or less crooked path which elfen-.tively prevents the bridging across ot' the active material. Sneh a sheet may be used singly or in groups; and the offset portions may be formed in it in various ways, as by pressing or molding, and may be on one or both sides oiI the sheet. The separators are preferably spaced from the. battery plates throughout the. most oi' their surfaee. but have suitable projecting buttons, which may or may not be 'Formed integral with the sheets. which engage the battery plates at suitable points and etl'eetively prevent buckling o'l' the latter.

The aceouipaIrving drawings illustrate my invention: Figure l is a fragmentary perspective view oi' a battery separator embodying Iny invention in one form: Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line of Fig. l Fig. 3 is a sei-tion substantiall)7 like Fig. 2 but slniwing the projeetions all on one side of the sheet: Fig. 4- is a section something lilaI Fig. 2. lult showing a separator made up ol plaies like that ol' Fig. 3: Fig. 5 is a liagnienlarv j'ierspective viewsomewhat similar to Fig. l` but showing a somewhat dill'erent torni ot' separator. with the projections joined at their lends to the body of the separator instead ol being joined along au edge as in the arrangement shown in Fig. l: Fig. is a horizontal section on the 7line G-G of Fig. 5; and Fig. 7 is a section similar to Fig. 6, but with the projeen tions all offset on one side of the body of the separator; and F ig. 8 is a section built np of two plates like that of Fig. 'i'.

The separator in its simplest form is made oiI a single sheet l() of suitable acid-resisting material, sueh as rubber, eellnloid, bakelite, or redinanol, which may be furnished in sheet i'orIn and afterward manipulated to form the desired openings and projections, ormay be molded originally in the desi-red toria. Formed in this sheet are suitable openings 1l to permit the migration of the ions. These openings ll are most eenvenientl v in the Jf'orin of long slots, shown as vertical, though not necessarily so, when the separator is in place in the battery between adjacent battery plates l2 and 13 as illustrat-ed in Figs. 2, 3, 4, 6, 7` and 8. The ojienings ll are protected by offset portions from the main body ot the plates l0.

These offset portions may take the form oi' oblique wings 14. which are joined at one edge to the body oi the plate l() at the edge oi the respeetive openings 11, and projeet 'obliquely from the planeet' the plate l0 in Jront otl the. (n'ieliirigs 11. This form is shown iIi Figs. l, 2, 3, and 4l. The wings 14 may be on both sides ot' the plates 10, as shown in Figs. l and 2, or Inay be on only one side thereo'l"q as shown in Fig. 3. The separator may be formed ot a single plate, as shown in Figs` l, 2, and 3, or may be formed oi. two or more plates put together iu any desired arraI'IgeInent. One such a1'- rangernent is shown in Fig. 4, wheretwoplates similar to the oneI shown in Fig. 3 willi the wings i4 all projecting on one side are put. together with their flat faces abutting and their I ipenings ll registering, so that the two plates together forni a single separator with each opening 11 protected by a wing 1.4 on eaeh side of the separator. rThe seheme of putting two plates together with .flat fares abutting and openings regis tering shown in Fig. t is but one way of putting together two such plates to torni a single separator.

' The ollset portions` instead ot being in the l'orm of oblique wings 14 as in Figs. l, 2, ii. and 4- may be in the. forni of strips l5 parallel to the plate 'l0 and wholly offset from the plane ol' sur-h plate. in the transverse. plane ot the respective, loi'ienings, on either one or both sides, and joined to the body ofthe plate at their ends. Plates with such offset stri )s guarding the openings 11 are shown in liligs. 5, 6, 7, and 8. In Figs. 5 and 6, such strips 15 for alternate openings 11 are offset on opposite sides of the plate 10, While` in Fig. 7 such strips are all offset on the same side of the plate 10.

`Plates of this sort may also be assembled in groups to forni a single separator. One such assembled arrangement is shown in Fig. f1, where two plates each having offset strips 15 all on one side are put together with their fiat faces abutting, and their openings 11 registering, so that each opening is protected by a guard strip 15 on each side 0f the plate. j

All the forms shown can be made from a flat sheet,'with the wings 14: or strips 15 merely pressed laterally out of the plane of the sheet, such4 wings or strips being formed by the material originally filling the slots 11. As stated, however, the completed plate may be molded with. the wings 14 or strips 15 initiallyformed therein; and in this case it would be very easy not to limit the attachment of the wings 14 or strips 15 to the edges and ends respectively.

The slots 15 permit the free migration of the ions between the adjacent battery plates 12 and 13. The guard wings 14 o1' guard strips 15'at such openings, however, effec- `tively prevent the active material from bridging across from battery plate to battery plate through such openings .11, because by reason of such guard Wings or guard strips the path between battery plates is lengthened and made crooked so that any bridges which might tend to form would be so weak that they could not exist. To facilitate this free migration of the ions, more than half of the periphery'of each -wing or strip is cut free from the-body of the separator, thus leaving less than half -as attaching means.

lf desired, the main slots 11 for permittingV the ion migration may be supplemented by relatively small openings, preferably in the form of slits 16, formed in the' plate 10, and if desired in the guard wings 14 or guard strips 15. These slits 16 are made so small, in at least one dimension, that-no' brldging of active material through' them y could be obtained. y

Preferably, the projecting wings'14 and guard strips 15 are not projected sufficiently far to engage the adjacent face of the battery plates, but are spaced from suchbattery plates as shown in the drawings. In

vorder to obtain this spacing, so that thel wings or strips will not besubjected to pressure by any tendency of thebattery plates to warp, I provide in the separator plates 10 suitable buttons 17 for engaging the battery plates. These buttons 17 project farther froln the plane of the separator plates 10 than do the wings 14 or guard strips 15 and project from each plate 14 on both sides thereof when a separator is lformed of a single plate, though obviously only from one side thereof when tivo plates are assembled to form a separator. The buttons 17 are preferably suitably located on the separator plate to prevent buckling or warping of thebattery plates. As shown, large buttons are provided at the corners, where the greatest crushing force from warping of the battery plates is exerted, and small buttons are provided at onevor more intermediate points for engaging the batteryv plates at otherpoints than the corners. These, which are solid buttons, may be made of any convenient material suitably fastened in the separator plates; but preferably, especially when the plates are molded, are formed of the same material as the separator plates and are integral therewith, as illustrated in Figs.

I 'claim as my inventionj 1'.'A storage-battery separator, comprising'a sheet of acid-resisting insulating material having openings v formed therethrough and portions olfset from the plane of the sheet at such openings to guard the latter against the formation of bridges' therethrough, said offset portions having the larger part of their peripheries cut free from the body of the sheet. Y 2. A storage-battery separator, comprising a sheet of acid-resisting material hav-` ing relatively long andnarrow slots formed therethrough, and portions of the Same Inaioo terial offset from the plane of the sheet but v ,attached to the sheet and `extending along lateral projections parallelly oifsetfrom the .plane of thef plate at theopeningsthrough the plateto guard the openings against the .formation ,ofI bridges ltherethrough, said projections-being cut free from the plate body on opposite sides.

5. A storage-battery separator, compris-v ing a sheet of acid-resisting material having openings formed therethrough and portions o''set from the plane of the sheet at such openings to guard the latter against the formation of bridges therethrough, said sheet being provided with buttons which 4 ing project laterally therefrom farther than do said offset portions to abut against the adjacent battery plates.

v storage-batterv separator, comprisi'ng a sheet of acid-resisting material hav- .tions offset from the plane of the sheet at such openings to guard the latter against the formation of bridges therethrough, said sheet being provided with buttons which project laterally therefrom to abut against` `tions o'f each plate having the larger part of their. peripheries cut free from the bodyl of such plate.4 v v' 8. A storage-battery separator, 'comprising a pair of plates of acid-resisting m'aterial each having openings formed there through and offset portions at such openin/gs to lguard the latter, said offset portions openings formed therethrough and porperipheries ent free from the-body 'of Said plate.

S). A' storage-battery separator, comprising a sheet of acid-resisting material having openings formed therethrough and p0rtions offset from the plane of the.plate at such openings to guard the latter against the formation of bridges therethrough, said plate being provided with integral buttons which project laterially therefrom to abut against the adjacent battery plates.

1U. A storage-battery separator, comprising a sheet of acidresisting material having openings formed tl'lerethrough, some of said openings being relatively much larger in their minimum dimension than others, and -said sheet being provided with portions offset in the plane of the plate at the larger openings 'to guard the latter` against the formation of bridges therethrough.

In` witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Indianapolis, Indiana, this 15th' Vday of May, A. D. onethousand nine hundred and twenty. Y

.DANIEL A. GRIEB. 

